help picking new ar

Ive been wanting to buy an AR for a while now but the prices I see tend to put me off. Im not looking for anything special so I dont want pay too much for it. I ran across the websites for Olympic Arms and Fulton Armory and thier prices didnt seem too bad. These 2 looked pretty good to me.

http://www.fulton-armory.com/FAR-15-Service.htm#ClassicCarbines
The one I was looking at is about halfway down the page and its called the Desert Storm/Iraqi Freedom-era and beyond Service Carbine.

Has anyone had any experience with either of these. Are they worth it or is there better out there.
Or if you know of any companys that have good prices let me know. Any help would be appreciated.

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possum

December 23, 2007, 06:13 PM

remember that the prices on the makers ebsites are msrp and are not the prices that you will pay in the gun shop, well you shouldn't anyway. i have a bushmaster and i love it, i owned another bushmaster in he past and have alot of experience with many of thier models over the years and i have always been very very pleased.

also look at stag they make great stuff and at a great value.

what are you looking for inparticular? do you want to mount optics? what will be the primary use for the ar?

chrissmallwood

December 23, 2007, 06:19 PM

Im just wanting one to use for fun at the range and maybe occasional pest control around the house. Im not sure about optics, if I found one I liked with a flat top I would probably put a red dot on it, but iron sights wouldnt bother me either.

possum

December 23, 2007, 06:25 PM

alright, i would suggest a red dot type of optic my favorite being the eotech, thats what i have on mine. and buis just in case that pesky cat is in the trash again and the batteries are dead or die when you are taking aim! that would suck bad, then you just flip up the buis and go to town! the flatop just gives you so many more options. here are some pics.
in action
http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a98/rollins_joshua/jason2.jpg
another
http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a98/rollins_joshua/totalpackage.jpg

chrissmallwood

December 23, 2007, 06:36 PM

Thanks for the info. I kinda like the look of the the flattop to the carry handle. The one from Fulton Armory looks like it would be a good deal. Is It worth saving a few dollars to go with them or should I go to one of the bigger names.

possum

December 23, 2007, 07:19 PM

fulton armory, i have no experience with their ars so i cannot comment all i can tell you is that bushmaster and stag are good to go. and you will be well served and happy with either. maybe some else can chime in on the fulton armory ar's.

Slugless

December 23, 2007, 07:44 PM

maybe occasional pest control around the house

What kind of pests do you have that you need an AR for? Mutant Norwegian rats? :eek:

For a little extra money, consider an A3 flat top with a detachable carry handle. The carry handle has the regular A2 sights on it (which are very nice, ghost ring for those 15lb zombie rats + aperture for target shooting).

Then you'll have all the time in the world to choose optics for it.

That's what I did.

For the kind of use you're talking about, bushmaster would be fine. I own 2 bushmasters and wouldn't hesitate to buy another one. I've never owned another brand & can't speak for them.

chrissmallwood

December 23, 2007, 07:48 PM

Im thinking in the area of coyotes and the like, we get a few of them around here, I already have a 22 mag bolt rifle for that purpose but if I bought an AR I figured it could do that job to. Im not sure how MSRP works. Do you normally expect to pay less or more? How much would I reasonably expect to pay for an AR from someone such as Bushmaster or Stag if the MSRP was 950$ for example.

possum

December 23, 2007, 07:56 PM

you should be paying less than the msrp. here are some websites you can check out to see the going rates, they may be a little higher or lower depending on where you live. but these will give you a good idea.

www.impactguns.com
www.budsgunshop.com

Slugless

December 23, 2007, 07:57 PM

A cool thing about the AR is that if you're looking to shoot 'yotes at long distance, you can always get a varmint upper.

Expect to pay less than MSRP unless you go to a really pricey gunshop.

Re: price, I bought 2 bushmasters this year. The M4gery was $850 & the 20" HBAR was $868. Houston gunshow.

From an earlier thread it sounded like you might be able to get as low as $800 but a Houston gunshow is pretty competitive. In the same thread it was warned that if you get much below $800 the beware old bushmaster A1 uppers....

chrissmallwood

December 23, 2007, 07:59 PM

Thanks for all the input, I really appreciate the help.

possum

December 23, 2007, 08:02 PM

thats what we are here for glad we could help, now when you do get an ar we want pics, and range reports and all the details!

chrissmallwood

December 23, 2007, 08:05 PM

It might be a while till that happens but ill try not let you down.

possum

December 23, 2007, 08:11 PM

another good place full of info on ars is www.ar15.com

Bazooka Joe71

December 23, 2007, 08:21 PM

It might be a while till that happens but ill try not let you down.

;)

Oh, and you should never, ever, ever pay msrp for any firearm...If your local shops are overpriced, but it on the internet...There are plenty of dealers on this website alone that can get the rifle and ship it to your FFL for much less than msrp.

aaronrkelly

December 24, 2007, 01:27 AM

I can build a dang good AR for around $600....but the only place I know of where you can get a good, cheap AR is these guys.

In about the middle of that page they have Bargain Bin ARs for $570 - seem like a good buy to me.

http://cmmginc.secure-mall.com/shop/?shop=1&cat=33&

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